Russian Orthodox strife brings change in Hebron

White Church loses monastery to Red Church

HEBRON, West Bank (CNN) -- In a city where violent religious disputes are commonplace, the only Christian property has become the site of one of the more unusual skirmishes.

The Monastery of Abraham's Oak in Hebron, a 130-year-old Russian church has become the centerpiece in a struggle between two factions of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The monastery was recently taken from the control of the so-called White Russian Church, which traces its lineage back to the Czars, to monks and nuns loyal to Moscow's so-called Red Patriarchy, which has been the official Russian church since the Bolshevik revolution 80 years ago.

"Absolutely properly, the Palestinian Authority has transferred this land to its legal owners, the Russian church and the Russian people," said Red Russian monk Alexander.